SCRANTON, Pa. — Genesee Valley Transportation and the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad has unveiled former Delaware & Hudson RS3 No. 4068, repainted into the D&H “lightning stripe” scheme at the company’s Von Storch shops in Scranton, Pa.
The GVT has also announced that restoration of its PA locomotive, No. 190, has been completed and will make its inaugural trips July 11-12. Those invitation-only trips will be the first use of the former Santa Fe and Delaware & Hudson Alco since it was wrecked in service in Mexico. The locomotive was repatriated through the efforts of preservationist Doyle McCormack, who did extensive restoration work before GVT acquired the locomotive in 2023 [see “Genesee Valley Transportation acquires …,” Trains News Wire, March 2, 2023].
The RS3 had previously been painted in the earlier D&H freight scheme. It was repainted, the company says, to commemorate the rich railroad history of northeast Pennsylvania and the influence of the D&H on the industrial development of the region. The new scheme is a tribute to the former D&H Penn Division, a portion of which is owned by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority and is operated by the Delaware-Lackawanna.
The company said it will announce future public excursions with the PA later this summer.
Okay, that’s two.
I remember encountering Doyle and his team elbows-deep in the PA during my first visit to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center a few years ago. I’m so happy to know it’s returning to people-hauling service at long last.
Beautiful paint restoration. Great job GVT.